Mississippi Senate passes its version of teacher pay raise bill

Compromise likely to settle differences with House proposal

JACKSON — State senators on Wednesday rejected the House teacher pay raise plan and approved their own bill that would raise starting teacher salaries by 10 percent in the first year and let teachers and administrators at improving schools decide whether to spend bonuses on additional teacher salaries or equipment and supplies.

Not one member of the Senate opposed the pay raise plan drafted by Education Committee chairman Gray Tollison, R-Oxford.

Senators struck the language from HB504, which House members approved a month ago, and inserted their plan before returning the measure to the House, which likely will stick to its original plan.

That would result in a conference committee to draft a compromise for each house to consider.

Under the Senate language, teachers could receive $3,500 a year increases by July 1, 2015.

"This plan establishes the first true merit pay plan in Mississippi while making teacher starting pay competitive with surrounding states," Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, the Senate's presiding officer, said following the final vote.

Mississippi teachers' starting salary is $30,900 a year, among the lowest in the country.

The Senate bill would raise teachers' starting pay by $1,490 a year, give across-the-board raises of $1,500 in July and $1,000 more in 2015, and tie further raises to the academic performance of each school.

The last element of the bill would give teachers and administrators a bonus for improving their annual performance by one letter grade.

Each school that improves its annual performance by one letter grade would receive $100 for each student. For example, a school with 500 students would receive $50,000 to spend the year after improving its performance.

Teachers and administrators then would decide whether to split that $50,000 between the school's teachers or spend the money on supplies or equipment.

In the House bill, veteran teachers would have to meet three of 22 benchmarks, and state revenues would have to increase at least 3 percent to receive maximum raises.